hello. welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first, the headlines for this hour. government officials in japan say they will send a delegation to pyongyang to discuss the abduction issue. japan's economy trade and industry minister has resigned over a funding scandal. and the justice minister has followed suit. and joko wido dough has been

inaugurated as the president of indonesia, three months after being elected. japanese government leaders say they'll send officials overseeing the abduction issue to north korea. and they expect the delegation will be given a detailed explanation about the north's probe into the fate of japanese abductees. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga told the group will visit pyongyang soon. he says they're still working with their north korean counterparts on a timetable for the trip and he says they haven't ruled out the possibility of a visit this month. >> translator: we want to make the investigation go forward. we would like to express our stance that resolving the abduction issue is the most important task. we will directly ask questions to the person in charge of north korea's special investigation committee. we have decided it is worthwhile to go to pyongyang to hear the

latest details on the investigation. >> suga says the delegation will likely be made up of the people currently involved in the talks. he says the abe administration will continue exchanging ideas with the families of abductees. and he stressed that the government will do their utmost to achieve the return of those kidnapped. it's expected that the head of japanese foreign minister's asian affairs bureau will lead the delegation. during high level talks in china in september, north korea suggested that japan send officials so that they could be briefed face to face. joining us in the studio now is a reporter hiroki. so why has the japanese government decided to send the delegation to pyongyang? >> well, the main reason is that the japanese government feels best to show they are making progress on the abduction issue. meeting directly with a special investigation committee in the

north. primarily talking with the north korean envoy to japan will give a better sense that things are moving forward. in july they provide an initial report on its investigation sometime between late august and early september. this report has yet to be released. in place of this, the north suggested that japanese officials visit pyongyang. >> meanwhile, there are some people who oppose the delegation. what do they have to say about that. >> well, some of the abductees' relatives are particularly opposed to the delegation going to pyongyang. they are skeptical about the possibility of any results coming from the visit. looking back on the previous investigation in 2004, north korea submitted to japan what they claim were the remains of two abductees. but dna analysis in japan indicated that the remains were not those of the abductees in question. this led to a certain level of

distrust on the japanese side. moreover, the relatives are concerned that sending a delegation may suggest approval of the way the investigation something carried out before any real results are available. >> well, how do you think the talks at pyongyang will play out? >> most people go to japan for a visit. this means that the japanese delegates will probably be able to meet with the top officials of the investigative theme and learn about the progress. but there is a difference in outlook on the two sides. the japanese government has made resolving issues surrounding the abduction of japanese nationals a top priority. in the north, however, the media emphasizes related issues rather than the abductions themselves. this makes it impossible to tell whether the delegation's visit will help move matters forward in a meaningful way.

>> all right, thank you. two japanese cabinet ministers have resigned on the same day. economy, trade and industry minister yuko obuchi, and justice minister midori matsushima were appointed last month. >> translator: i express my sincere apologies to everyone i've troubled. >> obuchi used a political funds has come under scrutiny. she's faced questioning in the diet by opposition lawmakers about payments for theater events held for supporters in 2010 and 2011. political funds reports from two support organizations in obuchi's constituency show that payments made to hold the events

far exceed money collected from participants. opposition lawmakers say the groups also failed to issue any political funds report for a similar event held in 2012. hours after obuchi resigned the justice minister tendered her resignation. >> translator: i'm extremely sorry for delaying national politics and for troubling the japanese people through my recent words and actions. >> matsushima said the cabinet faces various challenges, including reviving the japanese economy. she said she's resigning to avoid slowing down the work. matsushima has come under fire for distributing handheld fans at a festival in her electoral district. members of the opposition say the act constituted a donation and violates the election law. matsushima has denied the accusation. she says the fans were printed

with information that would have been of interest to voters. >> translator: it's understandable that they had to resign. i want ministers to be scandal free. more women are being promoted in the political world, and other areas. but only those with proper ability and experience should take important posts. >> translator: i'd hoped that the appointments of female ministers would prompt more women to advance in society, so i'm disappointed. i plan to return to work soon. i was hoping the ministers would help create a better working environment for women. >> prime minister abe has confirmed the resignation of the two ministers in his cabinet. abe spoke to reporters shortly after they notified him they would step down. >> translator: as prime minister, i am responsible for appointing the two ministers.

i apologize to the japanese public for causing this situation. >> abe said there should be no delays in political process. he said there are a number of challenging issues to address. prime minister abe appointed yuko obuchi and midori matsushima as part of his efforts to promote a bigger role for women in government. obuchi was first elected to the lower house of the diet in 2000. she is well-known in japan as a daughter of the late former prime minister keizo obuchi. in 2008, obuchi became minister for declining birth rate measures under then-prime minister taro aso. she was then 34. making her the youngest minister in any cabinet in post-war japan. abe named obuchi to the number two position in the finance ministry two years ago, when he

became prime minister for a second time. she also chaired a lower house committee on education and science. obuchi won praise from prime minister abe, and leaders of the ruling liberal democratic party for her understanding of a broad range of issues. that's one reason she was chosen to join the cabinet. matsushima stepped down from her first cabinet post after less than two months on the job. before becoming a lawmaker in 2000, she was a journalist at a newspaper. later she served in the number two positions at the economy and industry ministry, and the land and infrastructure ministry. >> and nhk world's mayuko ambe gave us some insight and explained how the two resignations might affect the abe administration. >> it's a setback for abe and his team. the resignations could slow decisions on key policies and

affect his approval rating. the departures of obuchi and matsushima are abe's first cabinet resignations since he took office in 2012 for a second term. so far the public has viewed his administration as relatively stable. when he reshuffled his cabinet last month, one main point was to back up his words with action on the role of women in society. abe has promoted a goal of having women in 30% of leadership positions by 2020. so he appointed five female ministers, including obuchi and matsushima, as a working mother of two boys, obuchi was seen to symbolize women's empowerment. matsushima is a former journalist and observers say she's well-versed in a variety of issues. their resignations just a month and a half after the reshuffle is a serious blow to the administration. our checks of the ministers' backgrounds may have been insufficient. it's not the first time abe has

faced scandal and resignation in his administration. during his first time in power between 2006 and 2007, five cabinet ministers resigned, one after another, due to problems such as political funds. abe's support rate gradually fell, and he stepped down in less than a year. abe definitely wants to avoid that from happening again. government leaders want to put an end to the issues to avoid further impact on diet deliberations. >> and just a short while ago prime minister abe has selected two lawmakers to fill the portfolios in his cabinet. abe has chosen upper house member miyazawa as the new economy trade and industry minister. he's a nephew of the later foreign minister miyazawa. he was the finance ministry official before becoming a politician and he's known to be well versed with the economy in fiscal affairs. yuko cankawa will be the new

justice minister. she was a researcher at a private think tank before becoming a lower house member. she previously served as the minister of declining birth rate measures in abe's first government. analysts say the prime minister picked her to show his resolve to continue promoting women's role in society. all right. now for the latest in business news, here's our ron madison from the biz desk. ron? >> all right, thank you very much, miki. bank of japan officials have downgraded their economic assessment for one of japan's nine regions. but they have kept the others unchanged. they say the economy is on a recovery trend, or recovering moderately in all regions. in their regional economic report the officials downgraded their assessment for tohoku due mainly to weak production. it's the central bank's first downward revision for a region in 21 months. in the category of personal consumption, the bank revised up its assessment for hokkaido but kept it unchanged for other regions. the report noted the decline in

demand because of the april consumption tax hike but it said the decline is waning. as for production, the bank revised up its assessment for the hokuriku region but downgraded it for four others. people who run steel plants in japan are feeling the effects of the consumption tax hike. they reported a nationwide drop in production in september, and they say sluggish new car sales are largely to blame. officials at the japan iron and steel federation say crude steel output fell half a percent from a year earlier to just over 9.2 million tons. they say production has been down almost every month since the consumption tax went up in april. the officials also attribute the latest result to a decline in demand for steel used in public works. they say they're counting on a recovery and demand from automakers to turn things around. managers at japanese department stores are also struggling with the fallout from the tax hike. they say their sales fell for the sixth month in a row. the people at the japan

department stores association say in september, 240 outlets brought in about 4.1 billion dollars. that's down 0.7% from the same month last year. well, they say unseasonably warm weather in the second half of the month hit sales of autumn clothing. foreign tourists helped to ease the pain a bit, though. they spent 1.5 times more money than they did last year. people at convenience stores also reported a poor result for the month. they say sales nationwide fell 1.3%. investors across the globe are taking more risks. they're pretty upbeat about better than expected economic data and earnings reports out of the u.s. markets across the asia pacific region rebounding from last week's losses with a strong performance this monday. tokyo's nikkei recorded the biggest one-day gain since june 2013. it rose today nearly 4%, returning to the key 15,000 level for the first time in a week. buying momentum was supported by reports that japan's government pension investment fund will raise its allocation of domestic

stocks to just about 25%. the shanghai composite seeing gains, as well, just over 0.6%, 2,356. it did snap two days of losses. investors were cheered on by speculation that the people's bank of china will inject liquidity into several commercial banks. and in jakarta the main bench mark there closing up a quarter percent, 5,040. investor hopes for economic reforms are on the rise following the swearing-in of new president joko wid owedo. a traditional japanese food is already taking off in germany. tofu is high in protein, low in calories and usually has a soft texture. but it's evolving in a unique way in its new market across the ocean. nhk world has more. >> the sausage in this hot dog is not made from meat. it's made from tofu.

>> translator: this is good. it tastes just like a real sausage. >> reporter: this event in cologne, germany, started four years ago to introduce people to tofu. the festival is organized by a tofu pioneer in germany. he founded a tofu manufacturing company about 30 years ago. when he was in japan, he was deeply enticed by the taste of tofu and learned how to make it. he imported machines from japan. after much trial and error, he developed a variety of tofu products that became popular in germany. he now makes 6,000 tons of tofu

products a year. they include ham flavored tofu and deep fried tofu cutlets. he exports to other countries in europe, and to the u.s. >> translator: because tofu is made of soybeans, it is just right for health conscious consumers. >> reporter: another tofumaker in berlin carefully selects his ingredients, and is selling well. he started making tofu two years ago. he sells about 60 kilograms of his handmade tofu today at the community market and elsewhere. his lineup is unique, ranging from that infused with locally

grown herbs to smoked tofu. this smoked chili tofu is the most popular tofu at the market. i will try it. it's harder than japanese tofu, but very delicious. he has a policy to buy organic soybeans grown in germany. he purchases his other ingredients from areas around berlin. he aims to make tofu products both safe to eat, and loved by local customers. >> translator: locally grown ingredients are drawing increasing attention. so, it's important to use them. >> reporter: demand for tofu is growing as people enjoy the new

food in their own german way. nhk world, berlin. okay. that is going to wrap it up for biz this hour. let's get you another check of the markets. hong kong's top official blamed external forces for the ongoing pro-democracy protest. chief executive lieu edge

chunying made remarks to a local television station. >> there's obviously participation by people, organizations from outside hong kong. in politics in hong kong over a long time. and this is the only time when they do it. and this is not the exception, either. >> but, a student leader dismissed the accusation as groundless saying it shows leung's intention to crack down on their movement. the protesters have staged sit-ins on some major streets for more than three weeks. they're demanding a democratic election for the next chief executive in 2017. police and demonstrators have been clashing since last week on the kowloon peninsula. they faced off against each other again on sunday night. the hong kong government plans to hold the first official dialogue with the students on tuesday. but the police continued to use force against protesters who tried to expand the area they have occupied.

indonesia's president-elect has taken the oath of office. joko widodo will lead the world's third biggest democracy. many supporters have high hopes he'll usher in reforms and root out corruption. ♪ joko was formerly governor of the indonesian capital jakarta. he defeated a retired general in the july election. joko was sworn in during the ceremony at the people's assembly in jakarta. >> translator: with allah i swear that i will do my best to fulfill my duty in the fairest manner as president of the republic of indonesia. this is the moment for us to work together, to carry on the

very important duty of achieving an indonesia that is politically sovereign. economically independent, and culturally civilized. i'm sure this important task can be accomplished by everybody working hard together. >> joko is known to be concerned about the plight of the poor, having promoted universal health care and free education in the past. he said he would work to ensure that all indonesians, including those in remote areas, will be able to receive assistance. >> translator: the administration that i will lead will make sure that everyone throughout the entire country will have access to government services. >> the new president called on indonesians at all levels of the

society to work together to create a more prosperous country. and it's time now to check on the world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. sayaka, as opposed to yesterday's sunny weather, people in parts of japan are dealing with rainy weather. what can we expect? >> yes, miki, people in japan enjoyed beautiful, nice weather on the weekend. however things are going to be different during the first half of this week. we have a stationary front, and a low pressure system approaching from the west, so thunderstorms are happening for many parts of the country. the area of rain will likely spread as we go into the next couple of days. similar situation can be found over south korea, and the system is also extending into eastern part of china. however, thanks to a big high pressure system, things are calm and dry over mongolia, as well as the beijing area. but due to the stagnant air, the air quality is very bad in the northern parts of china. we have some footage coming out of the area.

heavy fog monday morning created serious visibility problems for many residents in northern china. numerous highways in the metro area were closed due to poor conditions. hube province had to issue an orange alert for the severe fog. the second highest warning level. beijing in addition to pollution problems also had to deal with the heavy fog. so we need rain or winds to improve the air quality. but i'm afraid to say, it's going to be sunny and calm as we go into the rest of the work week. now temperatures in beijing at 17 degrees. seoul 18 degrees with rainy weather once again on tuesday. and tokyo 22 with rain tomorrow. now i know many people in hawaii had to stay inside during the weekend. hurricane ana didn't make a direct hit in the island chain, however stormy conditions affected many parts of the island chain. for example, honolulu saw about 17 millimeters of rain in a span of 24 hours. that doesn't sound significant

but it's actually much more than the monthly rainfall. the storm has now become a tropical storm but still bringing some stormy conditions for the island of cow ai and additional 200 millimeters of rain into monday and also high surf is up to five meters expected, as we go into monday. so, please watch out for that. now across the americas, hurricane gonzalo has affected bermuda last week, it has moved away from the east end of canada. however we have another system to come in that is still bringing some wet and windy conditions for eastern parts of canada. we have a separate system over the great lakes region, and this one is causing some thundershowers in these locations to the north due to cooler temperatures falling. we are seeing some snowfall in ontario as well as quebec. temperatures are going to be quite chilly for this time of year. only 12 degrees in toronto with rainy weather on your monday. and across the eastern seaboard nice, gorgeous conditions in washington, d.c. with high of 17 degrees. wet weather for the pacific northwest, 14 in vancouver, and 17 seattle.

and los angeles, you may see some morning fog once again with highs of 23 degrees. finally over europe, we are seeing completely different pictures. in the northern parts of europe, looking quite wet and windy, because we have a multiple system. the wet and windy conditions will likely continue at least in through tuesday. however, very different story for the southern areas like the iberian peninsula, italy and the balkan peninsula. sunny weather and temperatures are like summer. for example, lisbon your high is going to be 27 degrees. same goes for madrid. but across the eastern areas, quite chilly, only 3 high with snowflakes in moscow. here's the extended forecast.

and that's all for "newsline" for this hour. i'm miki yamamoto from tokyo. we'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. thank you for watching nhk world.ññññ;

>> you are watching "france 24" live from paris. it is 1:00 p.m. here in paris. a lifeline for the kurds of kobane. and says ites tack is helping iraqi kurdish fighters into turkey. screening passengers from the worst-affected nations. ministers are debating how to get more --